Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland will not provide MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine after Kyiv declined to cooperate on drone technology.
Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that Ukraine had initially agreed to share its expertise in the development and production of drones with Poland. In exchange, Warsaw pledged to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets from its own arsenal to the Ukrainian military as they were being retired from Polish service, News.Az reports, citing UAWire.
“Ukraine is indeed strong in drone technologies. We wanted Ukrainians to share their know-how and some of their technologies with us,” the minister said.
He did not specify why Kyiv later backed out of the cooperation agreement with Warsaw, but he referenced a recent diplomatic conflict between the two countries. The dispute was triggered when President Volodymyr Zelensky granted an honorary title to a Ukrainian military unit in recognition of the UPA, a move that led Poland to revoke Ukraine’s president from the Order of the White Eagle.
Ukraine received its first MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland in 2023. At that time, Polish authorities had planned to supply all their aging, Soviet-era MiGs-modernized in the mid-2000s-to Ukraine’s armed forces. These aircraft were slated to be replaced by newer American F-35s for the Polish military. However, Warsaw has now suspended the transfer program.